Tom Bergeron wants celebs to “to cry like a baby … “to see if it forces [Samantha] to lactate”

Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron tends to stay on the cheesy side of wit during the show’s broadcasts, but off-camera, he’s a lot edgier, or at least grosser. With his co-host Samantha Harris returning Monday, he says he has a plan to make the show extra-entertaining, as if her flubs aren’t fun enough.

Tom wants the celebrities “to cry like a baby when she’s interviewing them — just to see if it forces her to lactate on television,” he told TV Guide. “It actually happened to my wife once when she was out at dinner and a baby started crying at another table. It’s that inner wiring that keeps the species alive.”

He also got Samantha to admit she likes smelling her new baby’s head. “My girls are 19 and 17 now and I’m having a lot of ‘sense’ memory just talking to Samantha. I said, ‘Doesn’t baby head smell great?’ And she said, ‘You’re right. Baby head is wonderful.'” And there’s a sentence that would be terrific out of context.

about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart is a journalist who has covered reality television for more than 15 years and created reality blurred in 2000. A member of the Television Critics Association, his writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Playboy, Buzzfeed, and many other publications. Andy, 37, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

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